This year's Cardinals kind of remind me of the 2011 49ers

[Bobblehead]

They're going to get killed this week by the Broncos. The second half of their schedule is going to be brutal for them.

I thought they have a relatively easy schedule compared to us. The only tough non conference game they play away is Denver, which I put up as a loss.

I look at them going possibly 13-3 if they avoid the melt down.

 

[Seahwkgal]

ukeface:
I HATE, HATE, HATE the pretty non-predatory birds!!!
Neither Palmer nor Stanton will EVER win a Lombardi. Their fan base is fickle and let opposing fan bases fill up their stadium(remember the 2013 butt spanking we gave them in their house?).
When I think of this team actually winning the division, I want to ukeface:
As much as I hate the Whiners, I actually respect them. The Pussy birds I do not, nor will I ever as long as they exist.
:177692:

 

[Seahwkgal]

As far as the Cardinals, they are a good team but we still have a long way to go before we know exactly how good they really are. I've always said they can be a tough out on any given Sunday, but have had flaws in their game the last few years that have prevented them from being an 11+ win team.

Cardinals have proven nothing of real substance.

Let's see a Warner-less Cardinals make the playoffs first, and then we can anoint them as the new champs.

THIS!!!
Plus Palmer is over rated. He will NEVER win a Lombardi. BOOK IT.

 

[RolandDeschain]

Justin Smith playing at a level that JJ Watt plays at now.

Just stop. Justin Smith is a damned good player, but he is not a Watt-level player and never has been.

Cardinals have proven nothing of real substance.

Let's see a Warner-less Cardinals make the playoffs first, and then we can anoint them as the new champs.

Neither had the 49ers during the 2011 regular season, which is the time frame that Kearly's referring to against comparing the Cardinals right now, just drawing some similarities. I think you are missing the point.

Plus Palmer is over rated. He will NEVER win a Lombardi. BOOK IT.

...Book nothing. Palmer is ten times the QB Trent Dilfer was. I'm not sure what you're smoking, but it's more potent than what's legal in Washington & Colorado.

 

[bigskydoc]

When the season started, I listed the Cards as giving us a run for the NFCW championship and the Niners in a 2 game back third place. This is partly due to my belief that Arians is onto something there and partly due to ease of schedule.

I believe that their defense will give the Donks fits this weekend by keeping sustained pressure on Manning like we did in February. The game will come down to how well their anemic offense and rushing game can hold up against the altitude and the much improved Denver defense. Ultimately, I see Denver pulling off a narrow victory, despite an annoyed and frustrated Manning, by sustaining non-scoring drives long enough to wear out the Cards defense by mid-fourth quarter.

My prediction of a Hawks NFCW championship is predicated on Denver pulling off home victories against the Niners and the Cards and us defeating them at home. Ultimately, it is one of the few things that will separate us at the end of the year.

- bsd

 

[ringless]

Why does everyone keep saying the Cardinals have an easier schedule.... Dont we have the hardest... I mean we play the Superbowl Champions twice, (you guys dont have to play the superbowl champions...) We play the 49ers who played in the NFCCG twice..... The Broncos, the super bowl runner up..

In fact we play harder divisional games then you guys, since you dont have to play yourself...
We play the AFC West, everyone else in this division also plays the AFC west... Weird... So now we are up to 10 games in common...

We all play the NFC East, now the schedule is just looking crazy different with 14 games in common out of 16!
Then we play the Falcons and Lions, to more possible playoff teams.... The schedule is not that easy... Our upcoming schedule is the softest part of it...

 

[MizzouHawkGal]

If you play Atlanta at your place you should be fine. I still don't have a good read on Detroit though.

 

[Popeyejones]

I think if you could rerun their season a bunch of times the 9ers would finish at 12-4 (and maybe even 11-5) more frequently than 13-3* but they don't remind at all of the Cardinals this year.

The 2011 9ers used running between the tackles and short high percentage passes to pair with an awesome front 7 on defense. They went up early and then played ball control, which they could do because they got pressure only rushing four while keeping seven back in coverage to prevent quick scores. The strategy was to make less mistakes then their opponents, build leads, and sit on them.

The Cardinals can't run between the tackles and their passing game is reliant on high risk and high reward intermediate passes. They also haven't successfully been getting pressure while regularly rushing 5 or 6. They're high risk high reward on both offense and defense. They've also been losing for over 8 out of 12 quarters played so far.

So, I think they're style of play is incredibly different from the 2011 9ers, and frankly, despite the quick start I also don't think they're that good. TBH I think all four of the NFCW teams have regressed a bit this year, with the Hawks only having regressed the least (I.e. the division isn't going to come down to a bounce or two like it did last year).

*which TBF you could say of almost every 13-3.

The Cardinals were leading against the Chargers for the 2nd, and 4th quarter.... That is 2/4 in the first game.
Against the Giants, they were leading in the first, second, and 4th quarter... 3/4 5/8 total
Against the 49ers they were leading in the 4th quarter.... 6/12 ..

Could have misquoted but iirc the stat was about TOP.

i.e. they were leading the chargers for 16 seconds of the 2nd quarter, but down for 14:44 of it.

 

[Seahwkgal]

If you play Atlanta at your place you should be fine. I still don't have a good read on Detroit though.

Detroit's D is a fluke. They still suck and it will show. Their DB's are AWFUL. Right now, they are the luckiest team in the NFL. I watch them every week and they DO NOT scare me at all. AZ is gonna KILL them(even though I will be rooting for them to get lucky again).

 

[Seahwkgal]

Justin Smith playing at a level that JJ Watt plays at now.

Just stop. Justin Smith is a damned good player, but he is not a Watt-level player and never has been.

Cardinals have proven nothing of real substance.

Let's see a Warner-less Cardinals make the playoffs first, and then we can anoint them as the new champs.

Neither had the 49ers during the 2011 regular season, which is the time frame that Kearly's referring to against comparing the Cardinals right now, just drawing some similarities. I think you are missing the point.

Plus Palmer is over rated. He will NEVER win a Lombardi. BOOK IT.

...Book nothing. Palmer is ten times the QB Trent Dilfer was. I'm not sure what you're smoking, but it's more potent than what's legal in Washington & Colorado.

I am smoking Tard HATE. It's good stuff. I have no respect for that team nor their QB's both of whom just blow. Palmer had EVERY chance in Cincy with Owens, Housche, and Johnson. I have always thought he sucked. Stanton too(life time back up).
Let's not bring up Dilfer or Johnson. The Tards are not the Ravens nor the Bucs. So let's just end it there.

Hey, I got an idea. If you like the Tards so much, jump on the bandwagon. :stirthepot: :sarcasm_on:

 

[Popeyejones]

They beat the Giants and your 49ers with a CFL caliber QB who currently sports the NFL's lowest completion rate.

True, but in the current offensive scheme no Cards QB will ever have a high completion rate because that's not the passing game they play.

Another way to look at it is that he has an awful completion percentage. and even with QB Rating (which is biased toward completion percentage), he's middle of the pack in the league (83.5).

Not sticking up for Drew Stanton or saying that over the course of a season he'd be a middle of the pack quality NFL QB, but if he could maintain his performance against the 9ers (7th best pass d in the league so far) across a whole season he'd make the pro-bowl (3900 yards, 32 TDs, 0 Ints). He's OBVIOUSLY never going to do that :lol: , but I don't think he has been as bad as his comp % makes it look. I'd say so far he has performed as an above average NFL backup QB, certainly not CFL caliber.

 

[Popeyejones]

Detroit's D is a fluke. They still suck and it will show. Their DB's are AWFUL. Right now, they are the luckiest team in the NFL.

Their D is the best in the NFL in yards per game given up so far, and fourth best in PPG given up.

They're not going to finish the year in these spots, but so far it's pretty crazy to assert that they suck, though.

Aaron Rodgers had his worst game of the year against that awful Lions' secondary, and that's including him playing the LOB in the CLink.

I think they've been a bit lucky, but not as lucky as the Cards so far.

FWIW for fun I'd put money/avatars/sigs on Detroit finishing with a better record than the Cards this year, if you wanna.

 

[Seahwkgal]

Detroit's D is a fluke. They still suck and it will show. Their DB's are AWFUL. Right now, they are the luckiest team in the NFL.

Their D is the best in the NFL in yards per game given up so far, and fourth best in PPG given up.

They're not going to finish the year in these spots, but so far it's pretty crazy to assert that they suck, though.

Aaron Rodgers had his worst game of the year against that awful Lions' secondary, and that's including him playing the LOB in the CLink.

I think they've been a bit lucky, but not as lucky as the Cards so far.

FWIW for fun I'd put money/avatars/sigs on Detroit finishing with a better record than the Cards this year, if you wanna.

No offense Popeye, but I have been watching Detroit for most of my adult life. It is my location. Their DB's are gawd awful. They are. They also have no depth there. They have a great D line(especially their tackles) so that is helping the scrubs playing DB. They are also very thin at LB. They are a FLUKE and it will show. AZ, however, had a solid D last season so their defense is no fluke at all as much as it pains me to say so. Detroit is the luckiest team in the NFL right now and they will be exposed defensively.

 

[Largent80]

This year has more parity than SNL has parodies.

Each week we see it, and I just don't think that you can pinpoint anything into handicapping. This seems like it wouldn't be a good time to be betting on games.

Palmers best chance for a ring ended in that game vs. the Pitts. He hasn't been the same since that injury and I agree with Andrea, he ain't getting a ring.

Good teams with a little depth can sometimes overcome player departures or injuries, but right now I don't see AZ. being able to keep it going for a whole season.

 

[rideaducati]

2011 was the year Alex Smith figured out what a checkdown was and forgot what all other routes were. It was also their 8th year in a row that they had top 11 picks in the draft...those picks finally started to play better than in previous years. Having not won the division, they were also blessed with a puff schedule. Plus the division as a whole was a laughing stock. Add in McCloughan's draft that year and you have the perfect storm.

It took them 8 years to get there and they still didn't get it done. I see another 8 before they get back. They'll be back to hiring and firing GM's and coaches very soon.

 

[Popeyejones]

No offense Popeye, but I have been watching Detroit for most of my adult life. It is my location. Their DB's are gawd awful. They are. They also have no depth there. They have a great D line(especially their tackles) so that is helping the scrubs playing DB. They are also very thin at LB. They are a FLUKE and it will show. AZ, however, had a solid D last season so their defense is no fluke at all as much as it pains me to say so. Detroit is the luckiest team in the NFL right now and they will be exposed defensively.

No offense taken. :th2thumbs:

I just don't think this is the same Lions defense or same Cardinals defense that we've seen in years past.

So far Teryl Austin is doing a hell of a job in his first year as defensive coordinator for the Lions. The Lions have gone from a middle of the pack defense to the top defense in the NFL. I think they'll come back down to earth, but scheme quite regularly gets underrated, and so far he's been making the best lemonade in the NFL out of some lemons on that side of the ball.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are playing the same defensive scheme as last year, but don't have the pieces this year to make it effective. Due to injury and FA they've basically been reduced to having a very good man coverage secondary and Calais Campbell. And due to scheme, rather than playing to their defensive strengths they've so far been exposing their strong man coverage secondary through very ineffective elaborate blitz packages (which were more effective last year because their front 7 was better).

IMO the Cards aren't even in the same league on offense as the Lions, and on defense they have yet to play as well as the Lions either. Both teams have three wins though (and the Lions have a loss). By that count, it's hard for me to think the Lions have been luckier. All a matter of opinion though, of course. :th2thumbs:

 

[Seahwkgal]

This year has more parity than SNL has parodies.

Each week we see it, and I just don't think that you can pinpoint anything into handicapping. This seems like it wouldn't be a good time to be betting on games.

Palmers best chance for a ring ended in that game vs. the Pitts. He hasn't been the same since that injury and I agree with Andrea, he ain't getting a ring.

Good teams with a little depth can sometimes overcome player departures or injuries, but right now I don't see AZ. being able to keep it going for a whole season.

Well Rob, I hope you are right about the Tards but I still say their D is legit ESPECIALLY when compared to Detroit's.

Anyways, as much as I cannot stand the Donkos, I will be rooting for Pey Pey to win that game for us.

 

[Seahwkgal]

No offense Popeye, but I have been watching Detroit for most of my adult life. It is my location. Their DB's are gawd awful. They are. They also have no depth there. They have a great D line(especially their tackles) so that is helping the scrubs playing DB. They are also very thin at LB. They are a FLUKE and it will show. AZ, however, had a solid D last season so their defense is no fluke at all as much as it pains me to say so. Detroit is the luckiest team in the NFL right now and they will be exposed defensively.

No offense taken. :th2thumbs:

I just don't think this is the same Lions defense or same Cardinals defense that we've seen in years past.

So far Teryl Austin is doing a hell of a job in his first year as defensive coordinator for the Lions. The Lions have gone from a middle of the pack defense to the top defense in the NFL. I think they'll come back down to earth, but scheme quite regularly gets underrated, and so far he's been making the best lemonade in the NFL out of some lemons on that side of the ball.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are playing the same defensive scheme as last year, but don't have the pieces this year to make it effective. Due to injury and FA they've basically been reduced to having a very good man coverage secondary and Calais Campbell. And due to scheme, rather than playing to their defensive strengths they've so far been exposing their strong man coverage secondary through very ineffective elaborate blitz packages (which were more effective last year because their front 7 was better).

IMO the Cards aren't even in the same league on offense as the Lions, and on defense they have yet to play as well as the Lions either. Both teams have three wins though (and the Lions have a loss). By that count, it's hard for me to think the Lions have been luckier. All a matter of opinion though, of course. :th2thumbs:

Popeye, Detroit was not middle of the road last season, they were ranked 23rd, mostly because of their DBs. They didn't draft a single DB nor did they sign any FA's for that weakness. Darius Slay will never be a pro bowler. They kid is always getting burned. They lost Tulloch in their LB corps and also two Safeties are out. They have been getting lucky breaks on defense. I do agree about the offense even though I think Stafford is a good but not great QB. Caldwell says they want to run the ball more, but they don't. All they do is throw, throw, throw. The team has the tools to be physically and smash mouth but they aren't. And of course there is Calvin, a player that is impossible to hate.

 

[Largent80]

That is the other reason Tate went to Detroit, to get more footballs thrown his way. What is a coupla million bucks to these guys.

Detroit isn't getting anywhere with that Defense. AZ.has an easy schedule. Good for them, reality will set in by mid season.

 

[ringless]

That is the other reason Tate went to Detroit, to get more footballs thrown his way. What is a coupla million bucks to these guys.

Detroit isn't getting anywhere with that Defense. AZ.has an easy schedule. Good for them, reality will set in by mid season.

AZ has a harder schedule than any team in this division... You do realize all teams in this division share 14 games in common correct? That is such a homer statement.. 14 of 16 games are in common.... Here is a reason I can manipulate our schedule to be harder than the Seahawks or 49ers... We have to play the Superbowl champions twice.. You guys dont... In fact in exchange you get to play a team that didnt even make the playoffs, and you get to play them twice (the Cardinals)

If you call playing the NFC west, and AFC west with the Broncos, Chargers, and Cheifs in it easy... Then you are crazy..